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UPDATE: When I dropped off my kids at the school this morning, I poked my head into the admin office so that I could remind the principal that my wife would be attending the science class later that morning. And to ask for a copy of the current lesson plan for that science class. He was tied up in a meeting, I was told, so I told the receptionist to pass on the message. She told me that he was in a meeting with the head of the curriculum committee as well as the science teacher. Sure enough, I look down the little hallway through the open door to the principal's office, and there was the science teacher. He was standing in front of the desk and he did not look happy. So, they are doing something about the issue and, it appears, the science teacher is not pleased.

My wife attended the science class today. She brought her little recorder. Before class started, the science teacher had another teacher watch the class while he lectured my wife. He said that he would not permit her to sit in his class if she was there only to find fault. He said that she could sign up as a teacher's aide and help teach the class, but that he would not tolerate her "negative" influence. She basically said, "whatever..." Then, he said he was angry that I had "demanded" a copy of the current lesson plan and that all I had to do was ask for it and he would have given it to me. She corrected him and said that I had not demanded anything, but simply asked the principal for the current lesson plan. He then started the class.

Guess what? No oral presentations were given today. He rearranged the whole class schedule, announced that the test on the whole chapter that was going to be next week was now going to be tomorrow and then he launched into a review of the science portions of the chapter.

This tactic is not going to work because my wife is prepared to sit in that class until that "science" textbook is out of the school.

Here's where the story gets even more interesting. In the middle of class, another teacher (my son's teacher) came to the classroom to get my wife. She left her purse there with the recorder going and went to the principal's office with the teacher. She said that my 6th grader son was not in any kind of trouble, but that there was an issue that she could help resolve.

Yesterday, my son came home after school and wanted to talk to me about what he'd learned in History class. They are studying World History and they're currently on the set of chapters about World Religions. He had come home Monday night with a bunch of spelling words which were words from such religions as Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, Daoism, and Hinduism. We noticed nothing related to Christianity. My wife asked the teacher about that on Tuesday and she was more than comfortable with the teacher's plans to cover Christianity next week. In fact, the class is currently reading The Chronicles of Narnia and will be attending the film as a field trip on Friday. Additionally, the symbolism in the book and film has been discussed with the class.

In History class yesterday one of the high school teachers had come over and given a presentation on Islam. This teacher served as a Christian missionary in an Islamic country. He mentioned that he had to do so secretly or he could have been killed for trying to convert Muslims. He showed the a prayer rug, showed them how Muslims pray, and discussed other aspects of their religion and culture.

In my discussion with my son, who, by the way learned almost everything he needed to learn about Islam on 9/11, we discussed why the Christian missionary had to keep his mission secret. We discussed the Quran and the portions in it which proscribe the killing of those who convert Muslims to Christianity and to those Muslims who do convert to Christianity. We also discussed the head chopping habit with which Islam seems to be so enamored. We've discussed Islam before, he's seen the news reports about the hostages who have been killed on video by the "peaceful" representatives of the religion of Islam, and he's listened with me to Michael Savage in the car when Savage has been ranting about Islam. He is fully aware of what Islam is all about.

Even though the teacher was not pushing Islam, apparently my son took issue with him painting such a pretty picture of Islam by leaving out essential details.

The reason my son was in the principal's office is because his class was assigned to write a 'Thank You' letter to the teacher who gave the presentation. My son took the opportunity of that letter assignment to register his protest of Islam and the pretty picture that the teacher had drawn. He said something along the lines of, "Thank you for coming to our class and giving your presentation on Islam. It was nice, but you didn't talk about the slavery, torture, and killings that happen within Islam. You should have. Thanks anyway."

Apparently, the teacher questioned the tactfulness of the 'Thank You' letter my son wrote. My son felt VERY strongly about this issue and took his teacher's comments as an attack on his firm beliefs. He saw something that was wrong and he spoke up, through the letter, about it. My son can be somewhat emotional when he gets angry or upset, and apparently he shed a few tears as he defended himself against what he thought was an attack on his statements about Islam.

The teacher knew that my wife was on the school grounds, so she decided it was best to get everyone together and discuss the issue. The got everyone into the principal's office and explained to my son that he was not in trouble. He was told that he can keep his letter exactly as he wrote it. The principal told him that he was quite proud of my son for standing up so firmly for his beliefs, but that the method he used may not have been the best way to express himself. It was suggested that if he wanted to alter portions of the letter, that he may want to instead of attacking the teacher for leaving out the bad side of Islam, to have asked the teacher to come back and discuss the things like "slavery, torture, and killings" that happen in Islamic countries. He was sent back to class.

Now, I fully understand why my son chose to protest the way he did. He's attended protests and counterprotests with me. He's seen me in action and all of my kids love a good protest. They're just like I was when I was their age even though my parents were not politically motivated at all and I only once saw a protest when I was a kid, and it was against my church.

(Digression: When I was about my son's age I attended a large conference of my church in a city about 200 miles from my house. My whole family went. We had a great spiritual experience and walked out of the conference one day just filled with the Spirit. We came out and were assailed with all kinds of noise. This was during the push for ERA and my Church was against it. The conference site was surrounded by angry leftists protesting our opposition to ERA. They were chanting, had signs, and there was even a low-flying aircraft carrying a protest banner. There were protestors screaming at us. There were others standing just outside the doors of the arena who were passing out pamphlets to those attendees who were coming out. One tried to put a pamphlet in my hand and said to me, "You need one of these." I said, "No I don't", and I held my Scriptures up and said, "I only need these." I just love that look that a leftist gets when someone stands up to him like that. This was my first taste of it.
But I digress...on with the update.)

So, now I have to decide if I back the teacher up and tell my son that he should have been a little more polite. Or if I applaud his protest. I can tell you right now that I'm really proud of him for sticking up for his beliefs even after he thought his teacher was attacking him. The teacher and the principal told my wife that they were thrilled to see such strong convictions in a child that age and that most of the kids in the school don't even know what they believe in, let alone have the ability to strongly advocate for their position.

The principal told my wife that he wished that my son had brought up the issues in class during the presentation. My son is somewhat shy, unlike my daughters, so he probably just stayed politely quiet. The principal said that the school has to be careful about what they teach when it comes to religion - any religion - but that if a student asks about a certain religious topic that, by law, the teacher CAN discuss and teach on that topic. Now, I don't know why the principal felt that the very real situation of slavery, torture, and killings in the Islamic culture was one of those sensitive "religious" topics, but that is what he said.

I hope my son does decide to invite the teacher back to the class to present something on the issues he raised in his 'Thank You' letter to the teacher. That way, the whole class can be educated on the reality of Islam and its violent, oppressive culture.

Science class was over after this situation was dealt with. My wife retrieved her purse and the recorder. We haven't listened to what happened after she left yet, but we will.

She was told that the "science" book would only be used until the students were done with the test on this chapter. That it was gone, at least for the 8th grade. She didn't press for details about the 9th and 10th grades, but we will get that information as well.